USD Economic Index Shows Gains

An index measuring San Diego’s economy increased by nearly 1 percent for both February and March, with the most recent month showing a big surge in consumer confidence.

The Index of Leading Economic Indicators for San Diego County rose by 0.9 percent in February and by the same amount in March. The USD Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate, which generates the report, said delays in getting new construction data prevented the index from being released earlier.

Alan Gin, the economics professor at USD who compiles the data for the index, said with the two positive months, the index has advanced for five consecutive months, and showed some areas of particular strength.

“This suggests continued growth in the local economy through the end of 2012, with the pace picking up towards the end of the year,” Gin said.

In the March report, consumer confidence grew by 2.19 percent, on top of a 1.99 percent gain in February.

Only one of the six components of the index in March, local stock prices, didn’t go up, but these were unchanged.